I was not expecting kimchi to be my favorite ferment so far. I love my herbal krauts and can be sensitive to spicy food, so it was never my go-to.

I found the brands from the stores to be too spicy for my palate as well. The following recipe (from Summer Bock) goes a little light on the chili and allows the ginger to shine through. I have been eating a small amount every day and this is the first time in a few years that I have stayed healthy and resilient when around others who are sick. I am also feeling more energy and mental clarity overall.

I don't think I will ever go without home-fermented kimchi again.

I made 2 batches of kimchi. I used Napa cabbage for the first batch and since I had extra green cabbage from my CSA, I made another batch with it. Both are delicious, but I do favor the texture of the Napa cabbage.

Ingredients:

1 large Napa Cabbage (725 grams)

1 Daikon radish (209 grams)

1/2 Carrot (80 grams)

1 Onion (261 grams)

3 cloves Garlic (16 grams)

½ bunch Green Onion (43.5 grams)

2 Ginger toes (26 grams)

Chili Flakes (2 grams)

Himalayan pink salt (20 grams)

Yield: 1 quart and 1pint

Notes:

I was so excited to see purple daikon radish at the grocery store, so I could not resist using a little of both in this recipe. I sliced the daikon, cut the carrots into sticks, the green onion into 1-inch pieces and coarsely chopped the cabbage. That was gently tossed with 1/2 the salt. The remaining salt was added into the blender with the remaining ingredients and pureed to make the brine. I ended up making 1 quart and 1 pint. After it fermented for 5 days, I put the larger jar in the fridge and kept the smaller jar fermenting on the counter, pulling 1-2 fork fills from it every day. At the 3-week point, I decided to taste compare the two batches and found the jar that fermented for 3 weeks was even more delicious and sour but with more complex flavors. I enjoyed the experience of being able to slowly graze and adapt with the ferment as it continued to change over those 3 weeks.

Date Prepared: August 27, 2017Date Harvested: September 1, 2017Length of Ferment: 5 days

The second batch of kimchi was made similarly but with green cabbage and only white daikon radish.

Date Prepared: September 17, 2017Date Harvested: September 24, 2017Length of Ferment: 7 days

Modifications/Troubleshooting:

None

What Would I Do/Try Differently Next Time:

Make larger batches as I will attempt to test the theory that there is no such thing as too much kimchi, especially when you can hand it out to family and friends. This recipe is basically perfect for my palate and AMAZING!!

I used a pickle pipe air lock and a pebble rock to weigh down the smaller jar and a water air lock and a pint-sized mason jar as a weight for the quart sized jar.

Delicious kimchi....4 days into ferment but I decided to take it a little longer

Kimchi batch 2

Having love for kimchi before tossing it all together

I doubled up on this batch and made a 1/2 gallon and quart sized jar using water air locks. I used whole cabbage leaves to cover with 2 pebble rocks as weights for the quart sized jar and a small jar to weigh down the 1/2 gallon. The kimchi in the picture has been fermenting for 7 days. I gifted the quart sized jar and kept the larger one for myself.

I made 3 more gallons for holiday gifts to keep my family, friends and colleagues healthy this season.

*All images and content are the rights of Candice Brunlinger to meet the requirements of Summer Bock's Fermentationist Certification Program. Some of the recipes are from Summer Bock while others are influenced by her, various fermenting cookbooks or Candice's herbal and culinary background.

Herbal Living & Healing, Herbal Infusions, Nourishing Herbs Blog and Candice Brunlinger are not responsible for the improper use of any herbs or herbal products listed on this web site. Any information given is intended to provide educational information on traditional uses of herbs and the remedies of our ancestors. This is in no way an attempt to replace the professional advice of a qualified physician and herbal clinician.

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